Ethel5

Since I don't qualify for this perk, I think I can see it objectively. :) If the objective is clean clothes, there are several options: laundromat on board, hand wash in the sink, bring enough clothes to last the cruise, or reconsider "clean" and wear some things more than once before washing. However, if the objective is "I earned it and I'm using it," then I guess using it will come along with some problems that must be endured. (As problems go, though, this one seems a little less horrific than some...;))

Your suggestions for Elites using the laundromat, hand washing, packing more clothes and "rethinking clean," absolutely negates the benefit that we earned! It is up to Princess to fix the problem they created.

Just off the Regal today. We were handed the laundry bag with a notice attached that stated the laundry would take up to 72 hours. We had 900 Elites on board and it did take 3 to 4 days to get laundry back. We are also advised that the cut off for sending out laundry was Oct 30 at 9am. Our cruise ended today 11/3.

I view this as a dilution of yet another Elite benefit caused by too many "45 day/15 cruises" Elites. :rolleyes:

It still doesn't excuse the skewering the OP is getting. If people were that disturbed they could have said something to the maître d'

Why put strangers in the position of having to complain? :rolleyes:

"If you reject . . . and avoid the people, you might better stay home."

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Totally out of context and doesn't fit with immature behavior that disturbed others. Nice try-doesn't work here.:rolleyes: BTW, get the quote right.

You like the party being over and the bar being closed?

What I like is that Princess is plugging the money drain and keeping the cost of my cruise low. Being a shareholder, I appreciate that they are looking out for the bottom line.

it's just that the decorations are coming down and the party is finally over. The bar has been closed.;)

 

mike:)

Like:)

The ironical part about people who act like that is that they don't even realize how irritating their behavior is until others point it out to them and even then they probably don't care either way.

Hope you had fun - maybe Carnival is better suited for your crowd next cruise. I hear that sort of activity is quite common on that line. :rolleyes:

There needs to be a like button!

Not only do they not realize how irritating and boorish their behavior is, when it is pointed out to them, they get defensive and insist nobody complained. Most people are too polite to tell anyone they are acting like fools!

Ethel, they really ARE bad. While on the Royal, I had ZERO complaints. The location of the tp holder didn't bother me, the lack of midship stairs was not an issue, and I even enjoyed the new version of the Promenade deck. Basically, it was a wonderful cruise. BUT, the towels in the bathroom were bad. Would it stop me from getting on the ship again? Not at all. But Princess should take another look at the towels...

It's a personal thing I guess. I don't like the big thick Turkish towels that weigh more than I do. In fact, a lot of times when I get those kind of towels, I just use the hand towel to dry off with.

In my years hanging around CC, I've seen somebody or other complain about virtually everything on every ship. The towels are fine. Just watch out for the pea under your mattress.

Thank you!:)

This definitely needs a "like" button!

I have done a TransAtlantic 4 times and loved each one. The weather gets warmer as you head south. We have had oceans that were as smooth as glass with an occasional rough spot....almost disappointing to us who like the feel of the sea. The ship has plenty of activities planned but I like just vegging out and relaxing. Only you can decide if easy days are to your liking.

Actually, Princess is probably very happy you point out all the loopholes so they can close them.

Actually, it's people bragging about how to cheat the system with cashing out OBC, using coffee cards with one punch to get the brewed coffee forever, how to smuggle booze and bypass the table, how to walk off before your group has been called, how to whine and complain to get compensated etc that alerts Princess. :rolleyes:

Princess (to my knowledge) never announced a policy of having all OBC refundable.

 

It only became "common knowledge" when some passengers posted it on Cruise Critic.

 

As there never was an announced policy of refunding all unused OBC, it is hard to complain that what never was announced as policy is being changed.

I often wonder how much of a headache CC causes Princess! ;)

I believe that any gift OBC that is purchased is still refundable. I have purchased OBC for my next cruise and it doesn't show in the personalizer. I'm almost positive I saw a post with info directly from Princess stating this type of OBC would still be refundable. I will never need to find out though as the amount of OBC I get from Princess is generally used up just with the gratuities.

 

If there was some strange reason I ended up with a ton of OBC that I didn't have a use for (hah!) I could always purchase stupidly expensive liquor such as Johnny Walker Blue. I don't normally spend that much on booze but, if I had "use it or lose it" OBC I don't see any reason at all to balk at the price tag. I could also purchase jewelry or some other items as gifts.

You are correct-gift OBC purchased by friends, self or given by TA is refundable and it does not show on the personalizer.

I finally saw your reply to my post and you are correct. I did think about this after I wrote it and knew then that I had made a mistake, but too lazy to change it then.

 

Looks like you might be on the same voyage as us next week. We leave Monday for 3 days in Venice before embarkation. Hope to see you on board.

 

Greg

I fly on Monday also. TPA>ORD>FRA>VCE. Spend 3 nights in VCE in a house on a canal! See you on board!

I only cruise about once every 5 to 7 years, so I need the drill. My apologies in advance.

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

Please don't apologize. The safety drill is necessary and after many cruises, I just consider it part of my cruise experience.

Don't let the natives scare you!

And on one debarkation day we waited in the Taxi line for over an hour! There were a few ships in port that day. They were also allowing w/c people to go to the head of the line-which normally wouldn't matter-but after such a long wait people were getting ugly. The county sheriffs started assigning taxis and not allowing cutting in line etc and then things started getting better.

Putting on the life vest at the start of a cruise gives me the opportunity to adjust the straps to fit ME. That way, in an emergency, mine is ready for me. If by chance, I need to use one from the deck or survival craft, I will know how to adjust it quickly.

I kept my gun in the bottom drawer of my nightstand and its magazine in another drawer. One Sunday morning I woke up and found my gun was sitting on top of the nightstand, and it was loaded!! I stopped taking Ambian that night!!

That is scary!

I e-mailed people while under the influence of Ambien telling them in detail about my cataract surgery......I never had cataract surgery!

It is definitely not for everyone.

This is assuming you aren't allergic to Ambien. Unfortunately I had major side effects with this. Now my HMO has this as one of the drugs I'm allergic to, so I won't be prescribed this accidentally. So if you're going to take this, definitely try it at home first to see how you are going to react to it.

I have the most bizarre dreams with ambien. All involve motion-escalators-elevators etc. undulating, going sideways etc. Creepy!!

The MTP list depends totally on length of cruise and the itinerary.

 

On short cruises in the Caribbean and Alaska the number may well be in the low hundreds, while on longer cruises, TAs, etc, at least some number over 500 might (repeat) might make the cut off.

We got the lunch on a 7 night Caribbean cruise with less than 200 days. I only took that cruise because my DS and BIL were on their first cruise. On the longer cruises-we don't stand a chance!

The lunch for MTPs on Pacific Princess was very, very nice. Each table shared the meal with one of the ship's officers. It had a more personalized feel than the cocktail party.

That is a nice touch to having the lunch. I feel that the food is much better than Sabatini's or the Grill.

I take the evening flights East to West (ORD to FRA to VCE). What I found what works for me is to get to the hotel and take a ONE hour nap-no more. Get up, take a shower and get out of the hotel. Do something, have dinner, then hit the sheets about 10:00pm local time. Next morning-no jet lag! I don't sleep on planes-to noisy-too hot etc.

I would rather have the lunch than the voucher for a specialty restaurant. It makes it more special. Did the Grill and Sabatinis....meh.

we just did self disembarkation on Sat after the 7 day California Coastal on the Crown.

 

I noticed they said in the paperwork that it was a maximum on one bag per person (not that people adhered to that).

 

We had a medium size bag each with a knapsack each. We had no problem getting off. They had three walkoff groups.

 

We were off at 8:05 (per the schedule) and we were the third group of the three walkoff groups.

 

I was disappointed in seeing some people doing the self disembarkation who probably shouldn't. Saw a woman in a wheelchair pushing two bags, and another pushing her in the chair. Caused a huge bottleneck.

 

Some had too many bags and could not manage them.

 

Some had no problem at all and it was very efficient

Life would be much easier for the rest of us if the few would show some respect for their fellow travelers.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not suggesting that the OP's tutorial is accurate or replicable. But it isn't a complaint. Merely one person's peek into the possible considerations of what might be going on. Seems like a stretch to read anything nefarious into it.

Just because a person claims they are not complaining, doesn't mean they're not! Besides he said he wasn't "really" complaining. Either you are or you're not.